After a long (and successful road trip) the Nats are back home for a while.

Hello from Nationals Park — it's been a while. It's also been a while since we last saw Ryan Zimmerman, but he's officially back and in tonight's lineup, batting third and playing third.

The corresponding roster move is a bit of a surprise: Craig Stammen has been optioned to Class AAA Syracuse, leaving the Nationals with only six relievers for the time being. We'll find out from Jim Riggleman and/or Mike Rizzo the exact logic here, but my guess is they're concerned about Roger Bernadina (hamstring) and Ian Desmond (thigh) are not 100 percent, so they'd rather keep an extra position player on the bench (ie. Brian Bixler) just in case.

As for the rest of the lineup tonight … Jayson Werth is again hitting leadoff, though Desmond is batting between him and Zimmerman. (I kind of figured if Werth was leading off, Zimmerman would bat second.) Yunesky Maya will bat eighth, and Jerry Hairston (moving to left field) will bat ninth.

Not sure he is crazy about it but it would not be smart to say anything the way he is hitting right now. I think he works better at #5 if Bernadina gets healthy but thats just me and I am obviously not a manager.

>>>Not sure he is crazy about it but it would not be smart to say anything the way he is hitting right now.<<<Jayson Werth came to bat with runners on over and over and over again in SD…and failed every time.

Werth has an OBP of .337 which is one of our higher ones. i still dont like him lead off, rather see him 6 or 7 seeing a different mix of pitches perhaps and breakout.but, maybe with Bernie ailing, he is the best alternative.not sold on it though

I'd like to see Nix in the lineup too. But, unfortunately, he has a history of having a Mendoza Line BA against lefties. So we'll see him against the Cards' SPs tomorrow and Thurs., and maybe PH tonight.

ENOUGH ALREADY with the pitcher batting 8th. I have heard every argument over the years in its favor and it is all BS. ALL it does is ensure the pitcher's spot will get more at bats. Period. Anything else it might accomplish can be accomplished by the more logical move of just bumping the hitters down a slot and inserting another leadoff hitter. If you want another hitter in front of Zim, then bat him 4th and not 3rd. If you want another hitter in front of Morse, then bat him 5th and not 4th. You don't accomplish anything by giving the pitcher's slot more at bats in the course of the season.

Someone in the last thread asked for a source on a quote of mine.Here it is:http://bleacherreport.com/articles/726242-mlb-draft-2011-winners-and-losers-from-day-1#/articles/726242-mlb-draft-2011-winners-and-losers-from-day-1/page/2The Nationals are listed as having the best draft of any MLB team this year. And the story starts off this way:============The Nationals landed an embarrassment of riches in the draft, ending up with probably the best player for the third consecutive year. Rendon is a terrific hitter who projects to hit for both average and power, assuming those injury concerns aren't serious. He'll probably end up at first base with Ryan Zimmerman already at third, but the Nationals could have the best infield in baseball in a few years with Zimmerman, Rendon, Desmond and Espinosa, with Bryce Harper roaming the outfield.Meyer is a 6'9" righty with some of the best raw stuff in the draft and a dangerous fastball-slider arsenal. Control issues could force him into a closer's role, but on upside alone he's a top five talent. Goodwin is an athletic outfielder with speed and a good bat with the potential for some power.The Nationals may have to spend close to $10 million to lock up these three players, but assuming they all sign Washington will have an incredibly strong foundation for the future.=================

Attempting this with lineup is just fine. This is a team that is dead last offensively.Riggleman is attempting (but, of course) not completely honoring this sabermetric approach. Zimmerman should bat third in this lineup. Given that he is just back perhaps Morse bats second and then Zimmerman. To play lefty-righty you might bat Nix second, Zim third, and Morse 4th. Its not a MASN commercial, its the real, you bat Desmond 9th. And Hairston shouldn't even be in the lineup at this point.One wonders if the suggestion came from higher up and not from Riggleman and his coaches.

Jim in MD, there is a concept called confounding in epidemiology, where one variable appears to be related to another but in reality that is not the case. For example, after one year observations, we notice that the death rate due to drowning goes up when consumption of ice cream goes up.

"Jim in MD said…Nats are 2-0 with the pitcher hitting 8th. Why not go with it until they lose?"Because it resulted in only 2 runs in those games. Luckily we won because of outstanding pitching. But don't pretend this idiotic lineup gimmick had anything to do with it.

FS, there is a concept called superstition in baseball, where if you change something and start winning games, you keep doing that thing until you lose. For example, if I sit in a certain seat at the park, and we win, I will continue to sit in that seat until we lose.I switch seats often.

The Nationals landed an embarrassment of riches in the draft, ending up with probably the best player for the third consecutive yearDC Wonk, we've know this for a while now?And the kid from Santa Barbara, a lefty is pretty good as well. But we're Nats fans we have to wait until:1. The Nats follow through and sign them all including Purke as they did last year. Because before 2010 there was no guarantee anyone would sign. That the purse strings would be loosened for new talent.2. The injury issues turn out to be resolvable both with Rendon and Purke.3. They won't sign early so we probably won't know until next year where they stand against the other prospects currently in the system. For that they need some time in the system and in the minors.

But don't pretend this idiotic lineup gimmick had anything to do with it.Its not a gimmick, its a solid approach to the current offensive malaise. Its based in sabermetrics. However, Riggleman isn't following it to the "t" as he should to see if it would work. Therefore, we can't conclude its a failure because of the "gimmick", instead it is likely going to be operator error. User Riggleman doesn't know how to put together a sabermetric lineup without getting sentimental I guess.

Using your concept Grandstander, I would advise you to stop going to games because you are changing seats often implies Nationals do not win often in your presence. Just Kidding. :PBTW What exactly is this cape cod league where Purke might have to pitch?

Bixler reminds Riggs of Riggs when he was a player. Guy might last the season up here. I actually like the guy's speed…if he could just hit .200. Good move demoting Stammen. I have no faith this guy will ever be more than AAA fodder. As for Stares, I refer to my opening statement of a couple of nights ago: "Stares is harder to get rid of than Athlete's Foot in a sauna." He lasts the entire, ugh, year.Riggs is trying to out-LaRussa LaRussa with this 8-9 nonsense. I still think it's stupid, but you folks have supplied me with some data to support your opinions, and besides we're 3-0 with the 9-8 stuff. If Hairston hits a three-run homer tonight in the nine hole, I guess we're doing it all season.GYFNG…Four in a row.

For Sec 3, Scooter, and others:This WAS a $2 Tuesday, but they have apparently sold out of the cheap seats. The same thing happened the last time they ran the special. The $2 seats were gone by the previous Friday.

I wrote, quoting someone else:"The Nationals landed an embarrassment of riches in the draft, ending up with probably the best player for the third consecutive year"Anonymous said…"DC Wonk, we've know this for a while now?"My response:If you read my post carefully, you can see I was responding to someone else who wanted to know exactly where such a quote came from. I provided him both the URL and the quote.

DC Wonk…. Didn't need Fangraphs or Baseball America to tell me about how great our draft was. And if we can sign our first 2 high schoolers along with the guys named in your post, this should be our best overall draft ever. (And learn to ignore anonymous posters.) And FS…… it's called (drum roll please) The Cape Cod League. Try google and you'll get to their website.

NJack,Be nice….Even I try it once in a while….but I do agree on Anon posting….Need to sign top 4 picks and the High School reaches….the money has been saved over the 6 past years of MLB and International underspending. Time is now to make our move

We have a league here in Central Florida called the Central Florida Collegiate Baseball League consisting of 6 teams made up of mostly SEC and ACC college guys and they use wooden bats. Quality baseball equivalent to rookie league dominating by pitching. Davey Johnson managed the Sanford team and Frankie Viola managed the Leesburg team last season but both are now busy with their ML duties. Had about 20 draftees in the league last season and anxious to see how many this year.

Thanks Drew8.Anyways, I prefer to see Gorzo back instead of Maya. He is going to be part of our rotation going forward. Also gives us a better chance of winning ballgames than Maya. So yeah we should not waste another start on Maya.

I understand that because the Nats only scored two runs a game hitting the pitcher 8th, some might say it didn't work. However, if you look at the situations in which Werth was hitting, you'll find that he was hitting with guys on base often. The failure was not in the scheme. The failure was all in Werth failing to come through.

Sunshine @ 7:04I'm not a Sabre-geek, but I understand the pitcher-batting-eight theory well enough to know that it's not meant to help in any individual at-bat. The notion is that over the course of a 162-game season it will generate x-number of additional runs, which will lead to an extra couple of wins (no more). You can argue whether that's true or not, but it's not something you can evaluate based on a single at-bat. By that standard, you could argue that having your best hitter bat third doesn't work because Zimmerman just struck out to end the third.

Maya is AAA quality. In AAA it sure appeared that way. And it has appeared that way since he left AAA. Rizzo needs to give him more opportunities than others, since he invested $6M (?) in the guy. But that just makes him an expensive AAA pitcher.

"The game was over in the 1st when St. Louis scored 2 runs. No way we score 3 or more. Sorry for the negative post but it's fact."OK, as long as you brought it up … I'm curious why someone would post that. I mean, I can see posting unsupported optimism for a team you're rooting for, but why that? I'm not criticizing, I just don't understand. My best guess is self-pity.

Ok so I get home to watch Maya throw up again ….but seriously is Riggleman just paying off some debt to LaRousa ….WHY did they not take Maya out until the score is 6 to 1 ……Yeah Desmond messed up but FP is right he did not load the damn bases.. Too many Box Frites tonight I guess …..OH BTW every time we play you can hear Carpenter over praising the Cardinals wanting to get back to St. Louis ….I know he has felt he has been in exile since he came here but really Bob can you not make some effort

@ Sec3… I posted that because I am frustrated with this team. Why is Werth batting lead off when Zim is back in the line-up? Why is Stairs still here? I've been a Nats fan since day 1, actually before day 1 because I sat in RFK when the Phills came to town in 1987/1988(?) when it snowed? I always wanted baseball here in DC especially National League baseball because I was a life long Philly fan but I've been in DC for 25 years and I can root how I want to. I will continue to root for the Nats and complain when I want to. Thank you for asking.

Danny Espinosa was not late to cover 2B, Desmond blew the play. It was his play to make on his own all the way. That guy is KILLING this club. Maybe some day he gets it together but he's AA caliber right now. Even after 30+ games of error-free ball, he's still a defensive liability and his bat is awful. He needs to be in 'Cuse. Why they keep trotting the guy out night after night to stink it up at the plate (batting second!) and HOPE that he plays a midling SS is beyond me. Maya deserved better tonight.dfh21

I kind of agree that the Yuniesky experiment should be 'No Maya'. I think his signing was the same philosophy Rizzo shows towards the draft. He likes the college guys because he feels like he knows what he is getting more than the HS guys. Maya had a track record, and I think Rizzo felt more comfortable projecting him. I can't fault it, really. The problem that I see is his velocity is much lower than advertised. 88-90 is not 93, and those mph matter for a guy like him.Looks like we missed on the guy. It happens.

DfhI don't think that was all on Desi. Sure, the betTer play was for him to take it, but until Espy sees that he has to break for the bag. Either way, done correctly, would have gotten the DP.And I also don't see how Desmomd is kiling the team. He is not hitting but you can't just ignore the improved D.

Loved the Stinko de Maya reference, and it's perfectly apropos. Guy has had one decent outing against the horrible-hitting. Against everybody else he's been the same: three decent innings, lit up by the fifth and gone, good-bye. He's a junkballer whom batters can just wait for their pitch. He doesn't get the wide strike zone that a vet like Livo gets. So he has to come over the plate, and he gets pounded by the second or third go-round. AAAA, at best. Probably just AA. He's Matt Chico, XL-size.

@ CB . . . frustrating, isn't it? …I shall go to bed now. Until they get some offense, all the pitching and defense in the world means nothing. I like pitching and defense, but without hitting, it's just frustrating. Good night.

Ok, kids are finally in bed and I am tired, so it nonsense time.Does anyone else ever think that FP and the X Mo camera should get a room? He is like a schoolgirl about it sometimes.HRod is really fun to watch. It is almost like the batter isn't there. It is just him trying to knock down those three wooden bottles at the carnival.Riggs strategy tonight should have been simple. 'Hit it to Theriot'.

Just maybe … maybe the ideas behind a sabermetric lineup actually work? Wow, 11 hit explosion. 5 runs when they were behind 6-1? Zim and Morse both deliver … Now we get Pudge pinch hitting instead of Stairs … instead of Nix? Here's where Riggleman screws up good ideas.

Except for Desmond batting 2nd and Nix out of the lineup for Hairston, the Sabermetric lineup appears to work for this team. Now if someone could just convince Riggleman to let Nix play against left-handed pitching … they just might get above the .500 mark by the All-Star break.

So I get up to eat some more crow and what's this? A lead and scored more than 3? Oh my, I was wrong after watching all those 1 run games!!! I get it, Sec3MySofa is a psychiatrist. And if it is self-pity what does the good doctor prescibe? How 'bout a win? Would that cure self-pity doc?

With that outburst of runs.. anyone guessing that our man at the park – Mark Z was out of the press box? I am thinking he was trying to confirm that Ankiel is hurt and will be on the DL (SO WE CAN SEE NIX IN EVERY GAME FOR THE NEXT 3 WEEKS) or standing in line at the Shake Shack?

I know you are supposed to be scared of good hitters and walk them with 2 outs and all. But with our Nats, in close games, these kind of moves tend to backfire most of the times. Also I do not like the idea of backing down from a challenge of facing a hitter as good as Pujols. I mean we are thinking of sending this kid to an ASG. What is he going to do there? Walk 3 batters and load the bases?Anyways, glad to be proven wrong by Drew. Great win. I did not expect them to come back and win. Everyone came through when they needed to. I am too happy tonight.

Didn't turn the TV off and give up on our boys, but did decide to walk the dog! I come back in and we're up 8-6… thank you Nats, and thank you all. It's been awhile since i scrolled through all of your comments with such a huge grin on my face!

The Nats official scorer is clueless. Ryan Theriot takes 2B in the 9th, taking away the double play and all but ensuring that Pujols will come up representing the tying run. Huge play, very smart baseball, and very damaging to the Nats.And what does our scorekeeper think happened? DEFENSIVE INDIFFERENCE! Give me a break. Can't we find someone to do this job who has some idea of what the game is about?

Maya loves his curve balls—so do Pujols and Berkman.But looking on the plus side of this game, Rizzo now has a great everyday batting practice pitcher that can travel with the team for $8 million. Hey, good ones don't come cheap!

RickH said…"Hmmm … Did someone say 'No way we score 3 or more'?"Actually, that part didn't bother me as much as what followed — when he said "Sorry for the negative post but it's fact."If he's sorry to be negative, then he should just stop doing it — stop being sorry and stop posting.And while he's stopped posting, he should go to the dictionary and look up what "fact" means.

Hey, had to look good for my pregame live segment on CSN! :)If you'd like to watch it — including the part where I'm asked in advance whether I would pitch to Pujols or not — here's a link to the video page on CSNwashington.com:http://www.csnwashington.com/pages/videoScroll down to the thumbnail of me to watch the segment.

Just got back. Most of my comments are covered. I still don't think walking Pujols was smart, even though it worked, but hey, whatever!I just want to comment on the atmosphere tonight. The place was packed for a Tuesday night game, even against the Cards. But what was more surprising was how many were hometown fans. Things were legit crazy down in the bowl during the 7th inning come back and I was also surprised by how many stuck it out all the way to the 9th.The most electric crowd I've seen in a while at the park. I guess it was the weather and the $2 seats or something. Either way, the most fun I've had at the park since the Brewers double header back in April, and the most rewarding win by far.

Was texting some friends during the game. Big Cat and I agreed that the Pujols IBB was the correct call. Had Berkman homered it would have backfired, but still the right move. Another friend of mine who is a former High school head baseball coach who is a huge Cardinals fan said that their bullpen is terrible. He was cringing when they took Lopez out with only a 4 run lead. He said the 7th inning was not a surprise to him even with the Bats batting whoas this year.